At least three people have been killed in attacks in Israel Friday night.
Terrorists killed two women in a shooting attack in Samaria on Friday. Later Friday night, another terrorist rammed a car into the beachside boardwalk in Tel Aviv. Then on Saturday, three rockets were fired from Syria into Israel, though no injuries were reported. The attacks come in the middle of the Easter Triduum, Passover, and Ramadan.
According to the Times of Israel, the Magen David Adom ambulance service responded to a car accident on a highway in the northern Jordan Valley in Samaria. When medics and IDF soldiers arrived on scene, the car was found riddled with bullet holes. Two women were declared dead at the scene, and another was critically injured by gunshot wounds to her upper body. The injured woman was taken to a hospital in Jerusalem.
The victims were identified as an Israeli-British family from the Efrat settlement in Judea, the mayor of Efrat said: they were two sisters, 15 and 21, and their mother, 48. The father of the family was traveling in a separate car; he turned back after the attack and was present when medics arrived on scene.
The Israeli Defense Force labeled the shooting as a terrorist attack and said a manhunt was underway for the gunmen and other suspects, who reportedly fled the scene. Investigators said that the gunmen first opened fire at the vehicle, before it crashed into the shoulder. The attackers opened fire again. The car they were driving made a U-turn on the highway and fled the scene.
Later on Friday, a 35-year-old Italian tourist was killed and seven others were wounded when another terrorist rammed a car into the boardwalk on the beaches of Tel Aviv. At around 9:35 p.m. local time Friday night, the attacker drove southbound on the road adjacent to the beach promenade, before veering into the bike lane for about 100 meters, ramming into eight pedestrians and bicyclists before the vehicle rolled over.
A police officer and a municipal ranger arrived on scene. The attacker reportedly reached for a rifle-like object, when the two officers shot and killed him. The object was later found to be a toy gun.
Five other people were injured in the attack, all Italian and British citizens, and were evacuated to a nearby hospital. Two more sustained minor injuries and were treated at the scene. Four of the wounded were released from the hospital the next morning. Tel Aviv District Commander Ami Eshed said that police were looking into the possibility that the attack was not terrorism.
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Finally, on Saturday, three rockets were fired from Syria into Israeli territory. The IDF said that the attacks caused no damage or casualties. Only one rocket crossed the border and landed in the Golan Heights.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said they would hold security assessments on the situation. IDF Chief Herzi Halevi instructed the military to call up soldiers, specifically air defense units, fighter jet pilots and drone operators, and other air crews, from the reserves amid the heightened tensions. He also called for the IDF to bolster defenses in the Central Command after the West Bank attack.
The attacks come in the middle of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which coincides with Jewish Passover celebration, as well as the Easter Triduum in the Christian calendar: Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. The holidays are a known period of high tension between Israelis and Palestinians.